- Tandberg ASA shareholders with more than 24 percent of the stock want Cisco Systems to raise its 17.2 billion-krone ($3.1 billion) offer for the world’s largest maker of videoconferencing equipment.
- SEB AB’s SEB Enskilda unit in Norway canvassed shareholders and found that 21 owners won’t sell “at the current offer terms,” according to a statement issued today by the bank. SEB was acting on behalf of clients, said Nils Kasper Lodden, the bank’s spokesman.
- Cisco offered 153.50 kroner a share for Tandberg on Oct. 1 to expand in videoconferencing. The offer needs support from 90 percent of Tandberg’s shareholders. The Norwegian company’s board has recommended shareholders to accept the offer.
- Cisco had $35 billion in cash at the end of July. Cisco’s offer was 11 percent more than Tandberg’s closing price on Sept. 30. The bid is also a 38 percent premium to the closing price on July 15, prior to news reports of a possible transaction, the San Jose, California-based company said in a statement.
- Tandberg rose 2.7 kroner, or 1.8 percent, to 155.3 kroner in Oslo. Cisco fell 1 cent to $24.37 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
- Cisco said in its e-mailed statement it’s paying a “fair price” and that it won’t comment further during the tender process. The tender period started on Oct. 9 and will end on Nov. 9.
- This month, Cisco also announced plans to buy Starent Networks Corp. for $2.9 billion, or $35 a share. That was a 21 percent more than the company’s share price the day before. With Starent, Cisco will gain equipment phone carriers use to transmit video and other multimedia data to mobile devices.
